"Here it is!" Ruby finally showed Yang an outfit drawing.
Yang took a look. Ruby had drawn her in a rather stylish Huntsman outfit, with a beige vest topped by a black shrug. The sleeves had cuffs that Ruby colored in yellow, and a purple bandana—a comically large one—hung from her black cargo pants, its belt loaded with shotgun shells. Then there were the platform boots with ribbons on the back.
It was the day before Team RWBY were to go shopping. They had agreed to investigate White Fang activity, particularly within the commercial district. With this investigation, they would need new clothes to not be recognized, later or otherwise. The only problem was, how would they dress for the investigation?
Apparently, Ruby had answers.
"You like it?" She smiled, tapping on the drawing of Yang's potential outfit.
"Yup!" Yang exclaimed. However, a second look dampened the excitement, somewhat. "...There's a few things about it, though."
She drew these cute purple bow ties on those boots, those super cool "gold" cuffs on her shrug, and those stylish cargo pants that let her carry all that ammo—not to mention she remembered seeing that sort of outfit while she was out shopping with her family in Vale that other day! How could she see things about it?
"Oh yeah," Ruby said, her enthusiasm muted. "How?"
She watched her older sister pick up the pencil and cross out half the sleeves.
"Sleeves are a biiit too long, and those cuffs would snag Ember Celica, so I'd shorten them," Yang began.
Yang had a point; those brass cuffs would interfere with Ember Celica's transformations, so the compromise was necessary.
"Uh-huh!"
"Also, I'd get rid of the pants for a micro-miniskirt and garter belt stockings."
Yang erased the pants. Ruby viscerally gasped.
'Did she just mess with my drawing?!' Ruby watched wide-eyed as Yang started drawing. She took a few deep breaths and thought, 'It's fine, it's fine, I'm sure it'll all make sense later.' When she finally saw what her sister had drawn, she was skeptical; even with the technology, she thought a skirt that length was a little short for comfort.
"You want a skirt..." Ruby raised an eyebrow. "That small?"
"Longer gets in the way," reasoned Yang. "Trust me, it'd snag my legs and slow 'em down."
"Then why not wear pants?"
"Eh, I like to mix things up. Can't wear the same clothes all the time..."
"I know, Yang, but I liked the pants."
Yang shrugged. "Well I like the micro-miniskirt better. Plus, it's cute. And"—She raised a finger—"there's this thing called Anti-Upskirt Technology. Y'know, the thing that your combat skirt comes with?"
It was then that Ruby realized, yes, her combat skirt came with that. And that same technology, although manifested differently, would appear for Yang's proposed skirt. "Oh! I see now."
"Yes!" Yang quietly pumped her fist.
"So, what else, Yang?" Ruby inquired, curious but also skeptical.
"Ah ah ah, one more thing." Yang wagged her finger, then modified the vest to be zipped down more.
Ruby sighed internally. 'Of course.'
"That's about it," Yang said, scribbling a bra before passing the drawing back for her sister to look over.
On one hand, she still didn't get over Yang messing with that awesome drawing right in front of her, but on the other hand, she had to admit that it was better. After all, it was Yang's outfit that she was designing, so it had to match her style well.
Really well.
"Hey," Ruby began, "you'll look, uh... banging? Banging, is that—"
"Yanging, actually." Yang smiled with a wink, and Ruby groaned.
"Just like that, you're zipping up your vest."
"...Nyehhh." Yang stuck her tongue out, then chuckled. "But seriously. The sleeves, the skirt, the vest..." Yang stretched, then leaned against the chair she sat in, hands behind her head. "All that's just kind of my way of making it, y'know, mine."
Well Ruby still thought what Yang put was a bit... inappropriate, but she really couldn't complain. It truly was her style, after all.
. . .
"Hey! Hey Weiss!"
Ruby frantically waved at Weiss, the winds blowing as intense as she ran. Weiss didn't mind, having gotten used to intense winds, but not Ruby, who actively resisted the wind's efforts.
"Hello the–" As Weiss looked, she noticed her holding a stack of papers—its contents barely discernible—in her other hand. "Hold on. What's that you're holding?"
"Outfits! Like, dozens and dozens of them–"
A sudden burst of wind scattered stacks of paper with it. When Ruby heard crumpling, she knew.
"OH NO!"
Ruby dissolved into rose petals, homing for the loose papers. However, each attempt left a couple loose, so she tried again. And again.
And again.
Finally, she collected the last loose papers, but she was panting, catching her breath. Weiss took a deep breath as she came up to her.
"God, that was close..!" she remarked, shivering.
Weiss tapped her on the shoulder before pointing her to a nearby cafe. Ruby promptly accepted and went inside, her teammate following from behind. Finally, the winds stopped being a bother, but not without one last gust of wind. Inside, the two sat down. Ruby let out a sigh of relief.
"Now, what is this about?" asked Weiss.
Ruby showed her the papers. "Outfits for the investigation!"
Finally, Weiss could make out what was on the papers: drawings. Lots and lots of drawings, as Ruby showed. In fact, the first one she saw had a rather princess-like design.
It showed her wearing a glittering light purple veil over her side ponytail, accompanied by a proud sapphire crown. A frilly, tall choker and puffy shoulders, as well as a white corset with patterns and ribbons wrapped around and behind her neck, accompanied her body. Purple opera gloves complemented the look. In addition was the black lace under the corset as well as a frilly pleated miniskirt, a wide calf-length cape, and a longer second veil. Finally, thigh-high stockings and a pair of white stilettos completed the loo—
Weiss put the design aside, causing her team leader to gasp in shock.
'Not even a word...' Ruby gulped. 'This is gonna suck!'
One by one, Weiss rejected more drawings. As she looked up, she saw an anxious Ruby watching, squeezing her fingers one by one, and had to wonder how much stock she put into designs for an investigation outfit. "Calm down," she reassured, "I'm sure there's a needle in this haystack somewhere."
Ruby—
"Up up up!" Weiss snapped, holding up a finger, before continuing to work through the drawings. More overtly "royal" dresses, more stealth-inappropriate outfits... wait, what was a maid outfit doing in there? Nevermind that, she discarded that as well.
However, as she went over the drawings, she noticed how finely coordinated each and every outfit was; that first princess-themed design genuinely looked classy. Hell, she could dress to impress at a fancy ball that way. Even the maid outfit had some things going for it: a unique, sleek, and modern take on the classic maid uniform that pleased the eye without objectifying the wearer.
Really, the only problem was that Ruby had gotten carried away.
So she continued to review the designs, expecting more ill-fitting outfits that would instantly draw attention when she'd least want it.
But at last, she found a suitable design.
It was a white peacoat with black buttons and black lining, its lapels flared outward. A white pleated skirt with a black petticoat underneath and a pair of white, thigh-high heeled platform boots with black stockings peeking out the top completed the outfit.
"I like this one." For once, she didn't discard it, but found that it was indeed the last drawing before she saw the wood of the tabletop. "And that's the last of it."
"But...but the—"
"Princess-like outfit? Distracting, overtly aesthetic-focused, and more suited for the ball than investigating robberies."
"And the one with... a big b-blazer with the...white cloth thingy and short shorts–"
"Maybe another time, but right now it'd stick out."
"So is there anything you like?" Ruby snapped, fists clenched.
Weiss held up the only design she hadn't thrown out. "This one."
"No, not the boring one..!" Ruby looked away in embarrassment, hands covering her face. "Why did it have to be the boring one?"
"It's discreet enough that no one will suspect a thing," Weiss answered. "It's elegant; it's practical; it's perfect." She smiled.
"..."
Weiss's smile dropped as she sighed. "You do realize we're going to investigate, not play dress-up."
"...Uh huh..."
Weiss took a deep breath. "Look," she began. "You are a great fashion designer, as I found out today. These outfits are what I can picture someone wearing, even for niche occasions. In fact, two of those outfits are what I've actually wanted to wear, one of them right now.
"It's just that, again, we're about to investigate," she reiterated.
"I know..." Ruby's enthusiasm had deflated, knowing that she had spent that much time on outfits that would never be worn. At the very least, Weiss was interested in wearing to the investigation an outfit... one that she, the designer, didn't like.
"Well, I found a great outfit you drew." Weiss stood and went to Ruby's side, presenting her the drawing. "It fits my aesthetic perfectly while still changing enough that I wouldn't be recognized off the bat. You know you're talented, aren't you?"
Ruby sniffed, looking at Weiss and then at the drawing.
"Would you like some advice?" Weiss asked.
She hesitated, but eventually accepted.
"First, remember the occasion you're designing for. Second, there is no shame in simplicity. Sometimes the best things keep it simple."
Ruby looked at the drawing again and blinked. She kept the "different, but somewhat recognizably her teammates" theme in mind, but it wasn't like she stuck with it much anyway. Weiss chose that outfit, sure, but she was a demanding person at times. After all, why else would she reject every outfit except one?
She just didn't get it.
But no matter. She had to tell her what she wanted to hear.
"Then I... take back what I said," Ruby said, "it's not bad at all!"
"Exactly." Weiss smiled. "I'm glad we've come to an agreement."
Ruby eventually walked away with an important message in her head...
Except she didn't.
In truth, Ruby lied to Weiss and to herself. Later that day, she felt like ripping up those rejected drawings out of frustration.
. . .
"Hey Blake, come here?"
"Sure."
Blake shut her book and got up to walk to Ruby, who was holding something behind her back.
"Yes?" she asked.
Ruby showed her the drawing. It was a white, zippered crop shirt with black hems at the bottom. Black ribbons were wrapped around the arms. The outfit also had black track pants and a pair of knee-high heeled boots with buckles around the calf. Of course, Ruby also included the big ribbon usually found on her head.
"Like it?" Ruby asked.
Blake took the sketch and examined it for herself. It complemented the usual way she dressed quite nicely, she found; it was simple, to the point, and didn't distract too much from Team RWBY's future operation. Even better, she would look different enough from her usual outfit, which she wore on White Fang missions, that she would go unnoticed if anyone were none-the-wiser about her appearance prior to her defection.
Blake gave Ruby a thumbs up.
. . .
Ruby didn't expect it, but she was having trouble coming up with clothes for herself.
Never before did she have to throw away an outfit drawing she didn't like. Before this point, she kept every design she could think of, whether for her sister or any of her two teammates. Even with her weaker designs, she would try to see how she could improve them into ones that she could at least tolerate. But now, she was regularly discarding drawings, chucking them in the trash as she grew increasingly unsatisfied. At least one pencil was snapped to pieces.
'Why can't I come up with anything!?' She internally complained. 'I just want to stick with something that I like! Why is it so hard, I mean, didn't I have no problem with Yang and Blake? If I can figure out something for them, then why can't I do the same for myself?'
Ruby glared at the unfinished drawing. She had drawn a rough depiction of a corset coupled with a split cloak, some parts less refined than others. There were a few options for boots, although none of them were fleshed out beyond barebones sketches. Eraser marks and faint smudges riddled the middle of the paper.
She gritted her teeth, crumpled the paper in her hands, and then tossed it in the trash bin, which overflowed with several discarded drawings. She had forgotten the theming again.
"Ugh!"
Ruby put her hands on her temples. The frustration was mounting. 'Why can't I draw something to be happy with?!' she thought. 'If I can do that, that'd be good, except I can't, which isn't!'
"Is everything okay, Ruby?" Blake asked, having entered the room.
"Y–Yeah!" Ruby exclaimed. "Just, trying to figure out what to wear! ...For the... investigation!" She smiled rather uncomfortably.
Blake blinked as the trail of paper balls led her to a trash can full of them. Then she looked at her team leader and saw the pencil in her left hand. She looked again at the trash can and reached in to pick up a paper ball, uncrumpling it to reveal a design. The outfit appeared to be a nice dress, as well as gloves, rose on the hair, stockings, and a pair of stylish red high heels for shoes. It might have been a rough idea, but it was still a fairly complete picture of what she was aiming for.
It didn't take her long to put two and two together.
"Can you think of what to wear?" Blake asked.
Ruby knew the jig was up. At this point, keeping Blake in the dark would only bring about more questions, so she took a deep breath. "No."
"What's wrong?"
"Every outfit I come up with, I just can't be happy with them." She looked down at her desk and noticed only a single piece of paper left. "And I don't wanna destroy what's left of my spare notebooks, so this is my one. Last. Chance. To get it right." She raised a finger. "One chance!"
"Ruby, listen?"
"What, Blake..."
"It's okay if it's not 'perfect,'" Blake began. "Sometimes good enough is just enough."
"How would you know that?"
Blake took a deep breath. "I... remember when I was sad about not being the perfect person, not being the perfect... anyone, really. But my mother sat down with me and my father and told me that... I'm already perfect. Because, I was already good enough to be their daughter."
"So what you're saying is..."
"Don't worry about getting it exact," said Blake. "If it looks good, and you think you'll look good in it, you're all good."
Ruby was still on edge. She still worried about wearing something she'll hate, but those worries were starting to soothe; after all, some of her outfits had common elements that she'd liked, retrospectively speaking: a black-and-gray color scheme with some red, most notably on the cloak and laces. She also liked putting rose emblems on the outfits. Those common elements entered the picture later on, when she was getting a better idea of the best outfit to wear.
And then she had an idea.
"Hey Blake." Ruby looked at her and smiled. "Stand by for a sec?"
"Sure."
Ruby concentrated on scribbling right away. At a pace never seen before. Blake noticed just how fast she was drawing, evident by a complete corset sketch materializing before her eyes. Not even a minute later, the top was done. Now all that was left was the legs...
And it was finished.
Blake watched her team leader set down her sizzling pencil before she looked back with a smile.
"Done!"
"Wow, I..." She blinked. "I didn't know you could draw that fast."
"Well, that's what happens when you have a good idea," she remarked.
Blake smirked. "...May I see?"
"Yes!"
Ruby gave Blake the drawing to look over. And in it, she saw her team leader wearing a pinafore dress with two laces, worn over a gray blouse with a metallic rose emblem on the left shoulder. Said dress and blouse were accompanied by her signature red cloak. Under the dress and blouse was a skirt with a red rose on the outside. Finally, for the legs, she'd wear tights with different red-laced boots that lacked the usual red trims.
Right away, she knew what to say.
"Hey." Blake smiled. "I think you'll look good in that."
. . .
And she was right.
Ruby had come out of the dressing room in the outfit she'd gone with, and she ended up liking it more than the drawing. Sure, she thought it could use some more color, but then again, this was for a secret investigation where hiding from the Fang was important.
"How do I look?" asked Ruby.
"Good," Blake replied. "I knew you'd look good in that."
"Thank you!" Ruby smiled. "I'm surprised I actually like it... even if..."
Her smile dropped, shaking her head. Was this even the right outfit? Was it really? However, Blake's words about "good enough" came back to her. She looked in the mirror closest to her and saw... a fine outfit. And that was all that mattered.
"...Nevermind. I think it looks good on me." She chuckled. "Silly me."
"How do I look?"
A familiar sisterly voice brought her and Blake's attention to Yang, who stood there in the outfit Ruby had drawn for her, complete with the beige vest, black shrug, tiny skirt, stockings, and ribbons. Yang crossed her arms and tilted her head, smirking. "Not too bad for a bruiser, huh, sis?"
"Oh, you look good, Yang!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Thanks." Yang pushed her hair back with her hands when she noticed Blake's outfit. It was the zip-up crop shirt, ribbons around the arms, black track pants, and knee-high heeled boots that Ruby had also drawn her in. Ruby had shown her the drawing yesterday, but now that the described outfit was realized, she swore it looked really cute and really sexy on her.
"You, uh..." Yang's face reddened as she cleared her throat in search of words. "You... look awesome, obviously."
Blake raised an eyebrow, but not without a smile. "Thank you," she replied.
"...Well, I'm gonna go see Weiss," Ruby began, "but first, lemme change out of these and buy 'em."
One change back into her usual outfit and some Lien swiping later, Ruby walked out of the Burning Thread store, dragging a paper bag of clothes while whistling. As she did, she remembered Weiss telling her and her team that she would be over at La Belle's. It took a bit of checking her Scroll's map app, but she found the place.
Satisfied, she went inside, reassuring herself that whatever elegantly simple outfit she'd drawn Weiss in was, well, elegantly simple and not "boring." Of course, that failed, and she found herself lamenting over all those exciting outfits that were rejected.
She understood why, but it still stung, a day later.
But the outfit Weiss picked could have been more. So much more. But now was not the time to beat herself up. She raised her Scroll and started texting.
[Where are you rn?]
Ruby waited as she looked around the store. As she expected, the store had a range of refined-looking clothes that looked and were more expensive than the stuff over in Burning Thread. Indeed, even from one quick touch of a jacket's fabric, she can already tell it felt softer and more delicate than anything she'd ever worn in her life. Of course, the luxurious touch came with an appropriate price tag:
45,000 Lien.
But before she could begin to think about why a single garment would cost that much, she received a message from none other than Weiss herself.
[I'm in La Belle's. When you come over, the dressing room should be on your left.]
She nodded and checked the place when she saw the dressing room, clearly labeled as such. She smiled, then went over... but as she did so, the doubts returned. This time she stopped, prepared to turn back and leave, sparing herself the trouble of seeing an outfit she still didn't like.
At all.
'Why did it have to be that outfit?' she thought. 'It's not like she has bad taste, or I do, right?' She clenched her right fist. She wanted to ask Weiss about those drawings, about the stupid, boring outfit that she picked because of course she was boring when it was convenient, about why at all.
As the thoughts ran through her head, she heard a curtain open. And she saw a familiar figure emerge in... that outfit...
. . .
Weiss held out her arms, taking small, delicate steps as she stepped through the curtain. It was the first time she'd worn a pair of platform stilettos; being a frequent heel-wearer, she wanted to be a little careful with her first pair of platforms.
Of course, she would get better at them over time, but right now her feet were a bit wobbly.
She wore a fancy peacoat, a black petticoat, black lace stockings, and those thigh-high boots, exactly as the design specified. And everything she picked felt downright beautiful. That much was a pleasant surprise given her first time shopping at La Belle's.
The only question was, where was Ruby?
. . .
Ruby had chills the entire time. Weiss was right there, possibly looking for her. Sooner or later, she would have to answer the inevitable question about her appearance.
'Oh God, she's gonna ask me how she looks...' Ruby stepped out of the store, making sure to stay clear of the see-through glass panes. She breathed heavy as the world seemingly closed in on her, a failure of a fashion designer. 'I can't tell her she looks boring, she'll never forgive me! But if I tell her she looks great, I'll never forgive myself!'
As she stepped away, however, a memory came back to her: Weiss giving advice for better fashion design down the line, moments after telling her why she liked that outfit in the first place.
'The right outfit for the right time... right..?' Ruby doubted herself right then and there. Of course, Weiss would never be found dead in a White Fang gathering for the white hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and white clothes would still stand out! And if that's that, then why even bother if someone was going to find it anyway?!
And then, she remembered the second piece of advice: '...Wait. Beauty in simplicity.'
Finally, it was starting to hit her: It was discreet, she said. It was elegant, she said. It was practical, she said.
It was perfect, she said.
At long last, she saw the rationale: Weiss chose the outfit because it was a right mix of style and stealth. Any less proportion of stealth, and she would risk announcing her presence to the White Fang. Any less proportion of style, and she may as well just modify it.
And it was all she needed to appreciate the outfit, even by just a little.
She took a deep breath, then went towards the double doors of La Belle's. She pushed through the doors and looked for her teammate. She found her leaning against a wall near the dressing room, rocking the suave, new-money look that subtly complimented her wealth. No reds or blues, just pure black and white.
Weiss saw her approaching. "Afternoon, Ruby," she began. "How do I look?"
Ruby took a deep breath, then smiled.
"You look great!"